Extracting more information from entropy

We extract the complex frequency of the lowest quasinormal mode (QNM) from the holographically computed entropy density near thermodynamic equilibrium. The system under study is a purely thermal supersymmetric Yang-Mills N=4 plasma undergoing homogeneous isotropization dynamics. Starting from a far-from-equilibrium initial state, the system evolves toward equilibrium entropy, forming a stairway pattern. Our analysis reveals that the rate of increase of the stairway is twice the decay rate (imaginary part) of the lowest QNM. Based on this observation, we propose a model that explains how this information is encoded in the entropy. The model is further extended to include finite temperature, R-charge density, and scalar condensate, revealing an additional feature: the system’s dominant dissipation channel may shift to one driven by the scalar condensate, depending on the chemical potential. Published by the American Physical Society 2025